The Council of Europe has just released the proceedings of the Closing Conference of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) 2025, entitled "The Way Forward", held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 18–19 November 2025.

Co-organised by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Education of Slovenia, in the framework of the national DIGI.DR project, the conference brought together 180 key stakeholders — policymakers, educators, researchers, and civil society representatives — to take stock of a pivotal year of collaboration and to chart the future of digital citizenship education across Europe.

The proceedings document the full scope of the conference, structured around three thematic sessions: Being Online: Media and Information Literacy; Well-being Online: Health and Well-being; and Rights Online. They also include the opening address by the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, as well as contributions from the Minister of Education of Slovenia and the Director for Democracy of the Council of Europe.

The conference marked a decisive turning point, transitioning from foundational work to a phase of coordinated and impactful action across Europe. Key conceptual outcomes include redefinition of DCE as a national political priority and a practical tool for enhancing democratic resilience; and a call to move from a "whole-school" to a "whole-of-society" model.

An important outcome of the European Year 2025, presented in the publication, is the draft Road Map for Strengthening Digital Citizenship Education (2027–2031), a five-year strategic framework structured around four pillars: policy advancement, communication and awareness raising, education and training, and learning environments and infrastructure.

This publication contributes to the implementation of the Council of Europe's New Democratic Pact for Europe and the Education Strategy "Learners First" (2024–2030).

The publication is available online.